I've just installed Ubuntu and I need either video, wireless, or some sort of other manufacturer (non-opensource) driver. How can I run the tool that will fetch all of these for me? I'd like graphical instructions.

4 Answers
4

Unity (12.04)

Ensure that you are connected to the internet, if you are installing wireless drivers then usually you need to be plugged in via an ethernet cable. Click on the Ubuntu logo in the launcher and type drivers and click on the icon that appears.

If you have hardware for which there are supporting drivers to download, they'll show up in this window and allow you to install them. If nothing shows up in this window then you probably don't need drivers installed for your hardware as they come bundled with Ubuntu.

There was a very good programmer team, creator of the sites touslesdrivers.com (now dead), maconfig.com(now dead),that became now driverscloud.com. I don't know if anyone knows them. It was a drivers scanning software suggesting drivers to update, but online, for Linux & Windows. I didn't find something as good as it was before they change their name. I was a good complement to the Linux driver tool.
– QuidamDec 25 '16 at 12:02

@Quidam when installing ubuntu do i need drivers to support other thins like wifi etc. just like in windows?
– guradioAug 29 '17 at 2:32

Yes, you need drivers, with any OS, because drivers are the pieces of software that makes the hardware and the software work together. Which drivers you need depends from your hardware (What's your computer model, your wifi card, etc). With Linux, you have the choice sometimes to get the open-source drivers, or the proprietary drivers.
– QuidamAug 29 '17 at 18:52

I have a graphic card STRIX-R7370-DC2OC-2GD5-GAMING but the Additional Drivers dialog does not show me any related device / driver. How can I install the driver for my graphic card?
– KinOct 16 '16 at 9:51

Drivers

Unlike Windows, most hardware is natively supported in Ubuntu and does not require separate drivers to work. Generally speaking, if it works don't worry about a driver not being installed. Please note: there is a bug so that your graphics card will be displayed as Unknown in System Settings even if the driver is correctly installed and working--you can safely ignore this (or see this Q&A for the workaround).

If however something isn't working:

Ubuntu uses a graphical user interface called jockey or "Additional Drivers" to manage and install hardware drivers that are not natively supported by Ubuntu.

To open it hit Alt+F2 and type jockey-gtk.

A window will then open that will allow you to select additional drivers for sound, video, wireless etc. Here's a screenshot of this window, I already have several drivers enabled.

If something still doesn't work and you don't see a relevant driver in Jockey, please post a specific question including as much information about your hardware and what you have tried!

Applications

New applications on the other hand--as opposed to drivers--will have to be installed manually. However, unlike Windows, Ubuntu manages software centrally using repositories--in short, you don't have to go find/download software yourself. Ubuntu Software Center is one option for installing software (see this question) but you can also install from the command line usingsudo apt-get install software-name (see this question for more information on finding/installing software from the command line). You can also download Debian packages (.deb) from the internet and manually install them (or compile software yourself from source code if you are feeling ambitious)--but it's much safer and more convenient to install from the repositories. Welcome to Ubuntu!

Thank you for your interest in this question.
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